Governor Hochul Faces Dec. 19 Deadline on LICH Act to Protect Hospital Access

Governor Kathy Hochul has until midnight on Dec. 19 to sign or veto the Local Input in Community Healthcare Act, or LICH Act, legislation aimed at giving communities more notice and input when hospitals plan to close. The bill passed the state legislature for the second year in a row.

“[The LICH Act] would require ample advance notice to the public if a hospital wants to close. It would also require much greater engagement of the community that would be affected by a closure. And it would strengthen the state review process to better protect patients,” said health policy consultant Lois Uttley.

Hospitals at Financial Risk
Uttley said looming federal cuts and rising costs put many hospitals in jeopardy.

“Unfortunately, federal cuts to healthcare funding are looming and they are threatening the financial viability, frankly, of many new hospitals. Rural hospitals, such as those in the Catskills and urban safety net hospitals are considered to be especially at risk. So that’s why we need much stronger state oversight and community engagement to protect patients’ access to care when their hospitals are proposing to downsize or even close entirely,” she said.

Uttley added, “That’s not surprising. Many, many rural hospitals all across the country and also here in New York are already financially at risk. And once the provisions of the so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’which I would call the ‘Big Ugly Bill,’ go into effect, hospitals are going to be losing a lot of money. The bill cuts 900 billion dollars from Medicaid funding over the course of maybe 10 years. It also eliminates the enhanced subsidies that people have been getting for health insurance plans that they purchase through the Affordable Care Act plans like the New York Exchange. The result of all this is going to be that more people will be showing up at hospitals with no insurance or really inadequate insurance and that will mean that hospitals will be, you know, having to care for people without proper reimbursement. Their costs for charity care and their so-called bad debt costs will be going up and up.”

How the LICH Act Would Work
Hospitals would need to submit a Certificate of Need application before closing or downsizing.

“That would trigger two important requirements. There would have to be an independent assessment of how medically vulnerable local residents would be affected and what steps should be taken to mitigate that impact? And second, the proposed closure would have to undergo public review by experts serving on the State Public Health and Health Planning Council and at a meeting where affected patients could testify,” Uttley said.

Call for Action
Advocates are urging New Yorkers to contact the governor before the Dec. 19 deadline.

“We are very concerned that she’s going to once again veto the LICH Act and say, ‘Well, look, I just had my Department of Health update its hospital closure procedures.’ We don’t think those closure procedures are anywhere near what’s needed to really protect New Yorkers who could lose their hospitals. So, we’re encouraging concerned New Yorkers to call the governor’s office at 518-474-8390 and tell her that we need her to better protect New York’s patients,” Uttley said.

Image Credit: Aidin Bharti/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul